Call-link installs its 2000th Magic Desktop portal

Left: Stuart Bishop (Call-link Major Account Manager) and Phil Nuttall (Director of Bourne Travel Group) celebrate the 2000th installation of Magic Desktop.

MILESTONE FOR MAGIC DESKTOP
Number of Installations Hits 2000

Call-link has installed its 2000th Magic Desktop portal and selling system – making it the fastest growing selling system in the UK, following its launch at World Travel Market, 2001.

Bourne Travel is the latest independent travel agent to see how Magic Desktop improves customer service levels, installing Call-link systems in its Blackpool outlet and a new call centre dedicated to the cruise travel market.

Magic Desktop offers real advantages for independent agents looking to challenge their multiple chain competitors, improving both customer service levels and productivity.

According to Phil Nuttall Director of the Bourne Travel Group, the key benefit of his agreement with Call-link is the integrated solution that was devised.

He says: “Magic Desktop certainly offers greater functionality and quicker transaction time, but the way Call-link has provided a complete solution for my front office and back office needs relieves me of a major technological headache as well.

“I now have a single point of contact who can deal with any technology issues that could arise.”

Call-link head of marketing Peter Whittle adds: “The agreement with Bourne Travel is a great illustration of how we work with our customers. This latest installation was very much a consultative sale, with our focus firmly on the customer’s needs and how our range of solutions can best provide for them.”

Magic Desktop is the first travel portal and selling system that can be customised by each individual user, combining holiday and flight search engines with back office management systems and customer relationship tools.

Peter Whittle continues: “Our 2000th installation is a real milestone for Call-link. In a market where levels of customer service can be the difference between success and failure, travel agents are realising how Magic Desktop can provide all the information needed to sell holidays quickly and enable exceptional customer service at point of sale. Magic Desktop is also providing our growing number of directly connected tour operators with a cost effective distribution channel to reaching these agents. – the whole industry wins”

The relationship between The Bourne Travel Group of companies and Call-link is set to develop further with discussions now underway regarding both web development and voice solutions.

ENDS

For further press information, please contact: Nigel Hughes
Paver Downes Public Relations
2 Queen Square
Liverpool
L1 1RH
Tel: 0151 293 0505
Email: [email protected]

Notes to Editors

Magic Desktop key features

 MagicSearch – Integrated Flight, Ski & Sun holiday search
MagicSearch is a comprehensive holiday search and booking facility for both late and full season availability. Searches are made from an up-to-the-minute database of availability from all major operators. Search results can easily be sorted by criteria to aid the selection process and get you to the relevant booking page with just one click of a button. This powerful selling tool can reduce the time to search and book a holiday down to a few minutes, with search results available in seconds.

 Magic Search Pro
Magic Search Pro virtually removes the need for accessing Viewdata completely, giving travel agents a comprehensive search facility down to child prices, flight times, brochure references, hotel and resort names – providing agents with all the information they need to give the customer an informed choice.

 Magic Palette
Magic Palette gives the front office sales desktops the personal touch. Instead of displaying the branding and colour scheme of a technology supplier, travel agents can simply change the colour of the Magic Desktop portal and add their travel agency logo to give them a professional corporate image. Magic Palette can even personalise the front page to include valuable selling tools such as a ‘late deals ticker’ to give information of up-to-the-minute offers to staff.

 Magic Brochure Shelf
The Magic Brochure Shelf is the most comprehensive database of online brochures from all major operators. Never run out of a brochure again, simply enter an operator, brochure or even hotel name and the relevant pages will be on screen quicker than it takes to turn the page.

 Magic Travel Resource Centre
The Magic Travel Resource Centre provides all the information a customer will need before they travel: from weather reports to foreign office advice, from travel tips to visa information and much more. It offers travel agents everything they need to give professional after sales service at their finger tips. All information is intelligently linked to the holiday search, providing up-to-the-minute information on the destination and country of travel – all within an integrated sales process.

 Online Credit Card Authorisation
The Magic Desktop online credit card authorisation system makes credit card authorisation available to every sales desk, so travel agents never need to leave their customer. It removes the need to rent a PDQ machine and a separate phone line as it is fully integrated into Magic Desktop. Call-link’s solution connects with all major UK banks, accepts all main credit, debit and charge cards, prints receipts and can be used in ‘customer present’ or ‘not present’ situations. Ideal for both high street, home worker and call centre environments.

 Magic Trip Planner & Shopping Basket
Start off the sales process by capturing all the relevant customer details and holidays requirements in an easy and professional Trip Planner format. This information can be automatically fed into a Magic Holiday Search and customers’ details can be passed to an agent’s back office system for customer management. All holidays of interest can be captured in the shopping basket and details can be printed for the customer.

 Back Office Compatibility
Magic Desktop is one of the few travel portals that offers file hand off to your back office system. With a simple press of a button all holiday booking details can be processed through to your back office for simple secure management and there is no need for double entry of booking details.
Call-Link recommends Tarsc, the leading supplier of Back Office travel systems in the UK.

 Multiple Tour Operator Viewdata Access
If travel agents need to access Viewdata, the Magic Desktop comes with free Viewdata emulation software that allows access to more than one operator at a time. Magic Assistant can quickly find the right access codes and get to the right operator that caters for availability requests.

 Flight Finder
Need access to consolidated fares? Magic Desktop has an arrangement with leading suppliers of consolidated fares to the UK travel industry. Access this powerful booking facility from Magic Desktop, without the need for a separate connection.

 GDS Access via WorldSpan
Magic Desktop provides access to WorldSpan Go and removes the need for a separate terminal or connection. WorldSpan is the UK’s leading GDS for the independent travel agent and Magic Desktop gives access at the click of a button.

 Magic Community Notice board
If travel agents need to share information with front office staff, the notice board gets information to them quickly. Information can only be accessed by an individual agent and is controlled by them from a simple to use self-administration facility.

 Magic Electronic Window Card
Never write a window card again! The Magic Electronic window card feeds all the best late deals straight to an electronic presentation that can be placed on the wall or within an agency’s shop window. Travel agents can be confident that all information is up-to-date and they can set the criteria of the late deals displayed.

 Magic Travel Extras
Maximise revenue opportunities by selling all those travel extras. From car rental to airport parking & hotels, Magic Desktop helps travel agents with access to web booking facilities of the leading providers.

 Magic Kiosk
Call-link’s interactive kiosk is the ideal tool to allow customers, during busy periods, to browse travel information and holiday availability as part of the sales process. The kiosk is customised to an agent’s branding requirements, with holidays of interest placed in a shopping basket, which can be printed or passed to an agent to complete the booking.

 Magic Desktop Web Services: Web Hosting – Web Design – e-mail
Magic Desktop is the only travel portal that offers an end-to-end Web Service, including hosting, Web Design and e-mail solutions. Packages include a free .co.uk domain name and e-mail address, hosting of your site, whatever its size and a selection of design options from a simple two page site to more comprehensive options.

Call-link also has a number of search engines that can be easily integrated into a travel agent’s website to maximise sales opportunities including the Virtual Brochure Shelf, Holiday Search, Ski Search and Before You Go module.

About Call-link

 Call-link, established in 1998, is a licensed network operator, registered with OFTEL and the DTI, and is part of the Vertical Systems Group of companies, which include the Tarsc brand. Call-link is majority owned by a major UK £1 billion turnover company for whom Call-link provides a range of network centric data, voice and application solutions.

 Call-link is a true ‘one-stop’ technology supplier for the Leisure Travel industry, delivering customers economies-of-scale in the provision of data, voice, call centre and home working, front and back office application, Internet and hardware solutions.

 Solutions are provided across its own secure high speed IP enabled network and is at the forefront to drive tour operator distribution away from legacy-based slow speed networks.